Several characteristics of metal make forming an identical bending angle in two or more metal strips or tubes using conventional bending apparatus quite difficult. One is the fact that metal must be bent beyond the desired angle because it springs back after the bending force is removed. Another complication is the fact that metals with different characteristics, such as the type of metal, the metal gage, and the metal cross-section, can each result in a different final bend angle even though initially bent to the same angle. In making bends in metal it would be desirable if successive equal angle bends could be made easily without requiring complex apparatus. Previous bending apparatus attempted to obtain identical bending angle by a stop which utilized a metal circle centered on the bending axis. Equally spaced holes around the periphery of the circle provided a location for a mating bolt. The bolt extended upward into the path of the bending arm to stop the bending arm at that angle. The problem with this approach was that the force generated by a hydraulic cylinder would damage the apparatus if the bending angle exceeded the bolt location. This problem has been overcome in the present apparatus.